I Remember Now
by Just4FunFiction
Summary: I watched this film a while back, and it has become my favourite animated film of all time, the first and only film to beat Lion King for me. This is basically my idea of what would have happened after the credits rolled.


The two of them, two perfect strangers in the eyes of anyone who may have passed by, just stared at each other. A man in a blue suit with a white shirt and a blue tie, and a woman in a light orange shirt, with a light pink cardigan and peach-coloured jeans. Both knew who the other was, and yet at the same time, they didn't. It was as if something was missing- a piece, that when reinserted into their minds, would make everything clear to them. They both asked the other for their name, at the exact same time. Taki chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck, while Mitsuha giggled just as nervously, cupping her hand over her mouth.

"Sorry," he apologised.

She waved it off. "No, no, it's fine." Neither knew who should take the next step, or what that step even was. The silence slowly crept in between them, making them feel unsure about what they were doing, until Mitsuha spoke up. "Would you like me to go first?" Uncertain how else to respond, he simply nodded. "Okay. My name is Mitsuha Miyamizu."

"Mitsu-!" Taki spoke, shocked. His eyes went wide, and just like he had thought, the second he heard the name, everything fell into place. Like a key to a lock, he gained access to all the memories, or rather, dreams of her he thought that he had forgotten. They all flooded back in his mind, clear as day. He remembered who she was, the town she was from, her sister, her grandmother, her friends, her dad- everything he got to know about her came back. He remembered waking up in her body and living her life, only to wake up in his own the next day to find out she had been living as him as well. More than that, though, he remembered the comet- the giant flash of blue that shot across the sky, glistening like something from a fantasy, before it split into two, and the glowing red nucleus that shone ominously in the dark sky as itbegan to fall towards the town, only destruction to come from its path. He remembered heading to the small town, Itomori, to try and save her from what the comet would cause, and how he woke up the next day not even remembering who she was, but knowing he had been looking for something. It was the same feeling that he had been stuck with for five years. 'Ever since the comet,' he thought, looking at his hand. He often did that in those five years, expecting something to appear on his palm, but it never did. Now, though, he could see her name, in writing. Not physically, but in his mind, he could picture her writing it, as a way to make sure he never forgot. 'She never got the chance to finish it… that's why I forgot.' He looked back at her, staring deeply into her brown eyes. He never got the chance to tell her before how beautiful she was, but now, there was only one thing he could bring himself to say. "Mitsuha…"

She nodded. "Maybe you saw me at college, or something. I originally moved here when I was seventeen, but originally I'm from-"

"Itomori," they both finished at the same time. She gasped, not certain how he could possibly know that. There was a tiny amount of fear in her eye when he said that, and as he saw this, his lips curled upward ever so slightly. "It was after Comet Tiamat broke apart on the day of the autumn festival, and destroyed the town."

"H…h-how did you know?"

He wasn't surprised she didn't remember him, much like how he didn't remember her. "Because I know you, Mitsuha. My name is Taki. Taki Tachibana." She gasped loudly, as just like him, the sound of his name being pronounced out loud forced something to click in her mind, and everything flooded back like a tidal wave. She remembered who he was, where he worked as a waiter, his friends, his school, the girl he worked with. She remembered how she woke up in his body on certain days, just like how he had in hers, and how she tried to live his life for him, like the time she managed to get Taki to agree to a date with Miki Okudera. She remembered how she cried when she woke up the next day, realising she couldn't have that date. But more importantly, she remembered the comet. She not only remembered seeing it after convincing her father to evacuate the town, and how she heard a voice- his voice- willing her to get out of town… but she remembered seeing her town destroyed, the comet falling down to Earth in a glorious explosion of colour and heat, which eventually consumed her. But that memory was harder to remember, as if it had been replaced by the other. She looked at her palm, remembering it saying 'I love you' in ink, then looked back at Taki. Despite looking older, he still looked like the same guy who she had traded lives with on multiple occasions. She felt a couple of tears beginning to form in her eyes as she stared into his dark blue eyes. 'Dark like the sky after the golden hours,' she thought, 'before the comet struck the town.' "I can't believe it's you," he spoke up.

He took a step forward and held out his hand. "Wha… What are you…"

"I just want to make sure I'm not… dreaming," he told her, with a chuckle. "May I?"

She too laughed at the slight joke at the end. Looking back at his hand, she realised he was asking for hers, as if it was a dance. Nodding, she reached out and they grabbed each other's hand. The sensation of their palms meeting, the ability to feel their hearts beating, the sudden connection… it was all that it took for them to realise that this was no dream.

It was real… and it was more than they could have ever wanted it to be.

'All this time, it was you I was looking for,' they both thought at the same time.

He smiled. 'I'm so glad it's her.'

She smiled. 'I'm so glad it's him.'

They both felt a new wave of emotions crash over them- relief, happiness, excitement, and everything in between. Overwhelmed, the tears in her eyes start to grow, before a sudden stream starts to form down her face. She rushes forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. She starts to cry out of joy, letting the tears soak into his suit, and he doesn't stop. Instead, he holds her close, allowing her own tears to come out.

"I knew I was searching for something," he finally told her, the sensation of her sobs against his chest stirring his emotions and finally allowing him to express them, "something or someone that I had forgotten, and I never figured out what. For years, I tried to remember, rattling my brain for some kind of clue, but I could never figure out what it was… but now, I have."

"I feel the same way," she told him. "I never wanted to forget who you were, but when I couldn't remember, it felt like something had been taken away from me. I tried so hard to remember, and I knew that someday I would, but for some reason I couldn't."

"Not until I found you," they both spoke at the same time.

They stood there for moments, mere minutes, that felt like eternities to them, just revelling in the fact that they had reunited. Suddenly, she let go and pushed him back. While he looked surprised at this, she had a smirk on her face. "You know, I should slap you for ever even grabbing my boobs when you lived my life."

He blushed a crimson red, smiling meekly. "Sorry about that… again."

She also blushed. "Well… I guess I should I admit that I also… explored."

She gestured for him to look downward, and when he did, he snapped his head upwards, his blush becoming impossibly redder. "Aw, come on!" He moaned, despite it coming out in a laugh. "Really?"

"Sorry."

They both chuckled nervously, a slight bit of the earlier awkwardness returning, but it didn't last long. "You know," he started, "it's weird. Physically, we're pretty much strangers, and yet I've known you for so many years."

"I know what you mean. And, now that I remember who you are, I don't want to forget." She looked at him again, and quickly noticed something. "I was kind of expecting you to be… older."

"Well, as it turns out… when you and I kept switching places, it was three years after the meteor crash happened."

Her eyes widened once more. "Three years?! B-but… you looked just as old as me!"

"Seventeen."

"So, that makes you… twenty-two?" He nodded. She mulled it over in her head a few times, before finally saying, "that's… kind of cute."

He blushed yet again. "So, erm… where are you staying now, anyway?"

"Not too far, actually. It's a short train ride, but I live close to the station. I was just headed home. Would you like to… walk me home?"

He smiled sincerely and openly. "I'd love to."

So, she led him back down the stairs, and back to the train station. He knew his father would wonder where he was, and when he would get home, but as Taki stepped onto the train, Mitsuha's hand in his, he didn't care. He only cared that he had found her, and that he was not going to forget her this time. Likewise, all Mitsuha could think was that the piece of her which she had lost so long ago had reappeared, and she felt whole once more.

The train quickly reached the station, and they took a quick two-minute walk before finding Mitsuha's home. They stopped outside of the door, looking into each other's eyes once more.

"You know… you're very beautiful," he finally told her, much to her delight and surprise.

"Thank you. I must say, you're pretty handsome too."

"Really? I mean, uh, thank you."

He wanted to say something else, but in that moment, the door opened. Stood there was Mitsuha's now seventeen-year-old sister, Yotsuha. She had an amused look on her face. "So, this is your Tokyo boyfriend. Nice choice."

While Taki blushed at the… 'compliment', Mitsuha gritted her teeth. "Yotsuha…"

"Whatever." She turned around and walked back in. "Gran! Mitsuha's back!"

"Sorry about that," Mitsuha told him, rubbing her arm. "I take it you remember my sister, Yotsuha?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I didn't get much of a chance to speak with her, but she seemed pretty cool. For a little sister, that is."

Mitsuha giggled at that last point. She wanted to say more, but her grandmother, Hitoha, came to the door. The grey haired, now ninety-year-old woman, simply stood there, looking Taki up and down. She could sense something familiar about this boy.

"Gran," Mitsuha spoke up, "this is a friend of mine."

Taki smiled, trying to seem friendly in front of his sort of, yet sort of not girlfriend's grandmother. "It's nice to meet you, miss…"

She didn't answer him straight away. As he spoke, she seemed to realise why he seemed familiar, a smirk coming to her face. "I think you already know the answer to that, don't you, young man?" His eyes widened a little at hearing this. "After all, we have met before, when you were… 'dreaming'."

Both Taki and Mitsuha's eyes were as wide as they could be. Taki was stunned, his jaw dropped, while Mitsuha had to step back. "G-grandma… y-you… you knew?!"

"My memory might be starting to fail me, but this, I remember. You and my granddaughter shared your lives, didn't you? Eight years ago, I believe."

Taki, realising that the elderly woman was wiser to the situation than he first thought, gave a nod. "That's… that's right. Before the comet destroyed the village. Although, for me, I experienced this… experience," Mitsuha gave a slight giggle at his choice of words, "only five years ago."

"Interesting," was all she said, before turning to her granddaughter. "That explains how you knew to warn your father."

"H-he told you that?" Hitoha nodded. "I never knew."

"It was during the evacuation. He found me before we left for here, and he told me about everything that happened. He said he didn't want to let us go without saying goodbye one last time."

"I thought I saw him," she muttered, "at the train station." She looked back to her grandmother. "But how come he didn't say goodbye to me or Yotsuha?"

Hitoha frowned. "The train was about to leave. He told me to get on, because he didn't want either of you to be left alone. He does regret leaving the two of you, but he realised that it was too late to just jump back into your life."

"Oh…" She gave her grandmother that was half smile, half frown. "I see…"

Taki noticed the look, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he spoke softly, getting her to look at him, "I know it probably doesn't mean much, but… as I grew older, I haven't had the best relationship with my dad, since he works so often, and my parents divorced when I was quite young. I haven't seen my mom since. I know it's not the same, but… well…"

She knew what he was trying to say, and found it cute that he couldn't figure out how to say it, so she took his hand from her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze, smiling . "Thanks, Taki."

He smiled back, while Hitoha admired the way he cheered her up. 'It seems that I might be seeing more of this boy,' she thought. "Well, Taki, since this is our first time properly meeting, would you care to come inside for some tea?"

"Really? I mean, I don't want to bother you-"

"Oh, it's no bother. I insist. Besides, it is clear that my daughter has taken quite the shine to you."

Both Taki and Mitsuha blushed at the suggestion, but Taki decided to accept the invitation. "Uh, sure." Hitoha gestured for them to follow her inside, Taki allowing Mitsuha to enter first before shutting the door behind them and took off his shoes, just as Mitsuha had. "Is it okay if I use your phone? Mine died on the train, and I should let my dad know where I am."

"Of course. It's just in the hall." While Taki went to use the phone, Mitsuha and her grandmother went into the kitchen. Hitoha began to prepare a pot of tea. "May I ask how you found each other today?"

"Well, we were on separate trains. I looked out the window and saw him on his, and he was looking right back at me. I didn't fully remember him, but I recognised him. I had a feeling, and I just went with it. I got off the train and tried to find him, and, well… we found each other."

"I see. He seems like a sweet young man."

The two waited in silence. As the tea boiled and Hitoha placed the pot on a tray with some cups, Mitsuha decided to ask something. "Gran?"

"Yes, Mitsuha?"

"How did you know?"

"It's like I told you, dear. I had an experience like it when I was your age, and I suspect your mother may have too."

"Yes, but I thought you said you don't remember much of what happened."

"That's true, I don't." She picked up the tray and began to carry it to the living room. "But… I do remember one thing."

"What's that, gran?"

A fond smile came to Hihota's face. "The boy that I met, who I shared our 'experience' with… was your grandfather."

Mitsuha gasped again. "You… you mean… that's how you met?"

Hihota nodded, setting the tray down onto the small table. "Indeed. While I don't know if your mother met your father that way, it is entirely possible, and I believe that this young man could be the one for you too." Mitsuha blushed, but hid it as best she could when Taki returned, kneeling down on the opposite side of the table as Hihota. "Did everything go okay with your father?"

"Yes, thank you." He saw the tea on the tray. "May I pour?" Hihota gestured for him to go ahead. He poured tea into the three cups, and gave two to the two women present before taking one for himself. As they all nodded to each other, as if to say, 'thank you', they each took a sip. Taki smiled as the minty tea ran down his throat, warming him up. "This is really good."

"Why, thank you." She settled the cup back down, before placing her hands on her thighs. "So, young man, please- tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well, uh… where should I start?"

The elderly woman didn't even need to think, smirking as she replied, "how about your name?"


End file.
